EntoJournal Privacy Policy
Last updated: 6 November 2026
EntoJournal is a bug-collecting journal for people aged 13 and up. You photograph bugs, the app helps identify them, and you build a personal collection. You can choose to share finds on an anonymous community map. This policy explains what we collect, why, who helps us run the app, and the choices you have.
Who we are: StudioVII, the publisher of EntoJournal. Contact: support@diminishedseventh.com.
The short version
- Your account is anonymous. We don't ask for your name, email or phone number.
- Your exact location stays private. Only you can see where you found a bug. If you share a find on the community map, the pin is placed somewhere within about 1 km of the real spot, appears 2 hours later, and never shows your name.
- We remove the hidden location data from your photos before they are uploaded.
- We don't sell your data, show ads, or use advertising or analytics trackers.
- You can delete any find, or your whole account, from inside the app.
What we collect and why
| What | Why | Who can see it |
|---|---|---|
| An anonymous account ID, created automatically when you first open the app | To keep your finds, progress and subscription attached to you | Only our systems |
| Photos you add | To show them in your collection and to identify the bug | Only you, unless you share the find on the map. Then other users see the photo, never your name. |
| Where you found each bug (from your phone's GPS, or from the photo when you pick one from your gallery, read on your phone before the photo is cleaned) | To record your find, and to place a blurred pin if you choose to share it | Only you see the exact spot. Shared pins are moved to within about 1 km and delayed 2 hours. |
| Your notes and tags (where you were, where the bug was, mood) | Your journal | Only you. They are never shown on the map or in shared card images. |
| Identification results | To show you what the bug is | You, and other users for shared finds |
| Community actions (agree or suggest a name on a shared find, reports, hiding someone's pins) | To confirm identifications and keep the map friendly | Others see vote counts and suggested names, never who voted. Reports are reviewed only by us. |
| Private zones (circles you draw around places like home or school) | So finds inside them never get a map pin | Only you |
| Subscription status (if you buy EntoJournal Plus) | To unlock Plus features | Only our systems. Payment is handled by Google Play; we never see your card details. |
| Daily usage counts (how many identifications and guide entries you've used) | To apply free-plan limits and fair-use limits, and to keep costs under control | Only our systems |
Settings stored only on your phone: your app theme, light/dark choice, background, and cached guide pages. These are not sent to us.
Location, in more detail
- When you add a find, the app uses your phone's location (if you allow it) to record where it was. This exact spot is stored privately with your find and is visible only to you.
- To help identify a bug and pick local species, we send our identification providers a rounded area of about 50 km, never your exact spot.
- To show "Common near you", rarity, the season and sunrise/sunset, the app uses an area of about 100 km (whole degrees of latitude and longitude). Bug lists come from GBIF; the season and day/night are worked out on your phone.
- Community map pins are snapped to a grid of about 1 km (about 10 km for sensitive species), delayed 2 hours, and never created inside your private zones or for photos that show a person.
- You can use EntoJournal without location. Your finds just won't have a place or a map pin.
Who helps us run EntoJournal (service providers)
We share data with these providers only so they can do their job for us, under their own privacy and security terms:
- Supabase (database, file storage, sign-in and server functions; hosted in the United States). It stores your account, finds, photos and settings.
- Anthropic (Claude) receives a find's photo, the rounded area of about 50 km and the month, so it can identify the bug. It also writes guide and species fact pages, which contain no personal data. Anthropic does not use API data to train its models by default.
- Kindwise (insect.id), for Plus identifications: receives the photo and the rounded area of about 50 km.
- GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) provides species names, bug lists and record counts. The app sends it bug names and the area of about 100 km.
- OpenFreeMap provides the map tiles.
- iNaturalist open data hosts the openly licensed guide photos, which your phone loads directly. Each photo shows its photographer's credit and licence.
- Google Play and RevenueCat handle subscriptions. RevenueCat receives your anonymous account ID and your purchase records.
Like any internet service, these providers can see your device's IP address when your phone or our servers contact them.
Moderation and safety
Shared photos can be reported. Photos that look like they show a person are kept off the map automatically, and a find is hidden from the map after several reports. You can hide all pins from a person without them knowing. We may remove content that breaks our rules.
How long we keep data
We keep your data while your account exists. When you delete a find, its photos and map pin are deleted. When you delete your account, your finds, photos, pins, votes, zones and progress are deleted within 30 days. Copies in short-lived backups disappear when those backups expire. Guide and species pages that contain no personal data are kept.
Your choices and rights
- Delete a find: open it in My Dex and tap "Delete find".
- Delete your account and all your data: Me → Settings → Delete my account, or email support@diminishedseventh.com from the address you want us to reply to.
- Location and camera: you can turn these permissions off at any time in your phone's settings.
- Sharing: sharing on the map is off by default for every find, and only happens when you switch it on.
- Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export or delete your data, or to object to its use. Contact us at support@diminishedseventh.com and we will respond within 30 days.
Children
EntoJournal is for people aged 13 and up. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 is using the app, contact us and we will delete the account.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Access to each person's data is restricted on our servers, so other users can read only the anonymous map information described above.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for important changes, tell you in the app.
Contact
StudioVII · support@diminishedseventh.com